The Rough Patch (book) facts for kids
 |
|
| Author | Brian Lies |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Harper Collins |
|
Publication date
|
August 14, 2018 |
| Pages | unpaged |
| Awards | Caldecott Medal |
| ISBN | 9780062671271 |
| OCLC | 999583844 |
The Rough Patch is a 2018 picture book by Brian Lies. An idea of Lies' for more than ten years, when it was published it was well received and was named a 2019 Caldecott Honor book. The story tells of a fox named Evan whose dog dies. Evan then experiences various emotions while grieving before adopting a new dog at the end of the book. The book was praised for Lies' mixed media illustrations, in particular the way he used light and shadow.
Story
Evan, an anthropomorphic fox, does everything with his dog, including working on a garden they both love, until the dog dies one day. Evan buries the dog, shuts himself in his house, and becomes bitter, then angry destroying the garden in this anger. When weeds grow in the garden, Evan tends these because if the "garden couldn't be a happy place, then it was going to be the saddest most desolate spot he could make it." However, when a pumpkin starts to grow, rather than destroy it Evan tends to it and it grows large enough for him to take it to the fair. At the fair, though still sad, he enjoys himself and reconnects with friends. Evan's pumpkin wins third prize and Evan, after first choosing a cash prize, decides to take a puppy home with him.
Illustrations and text
Lies used acrylics, oils, and colored pencils in creating the book's illustrations. Evan's emotional state is conveyed not only through the text but through the illustrations which provide visual reputations both over and subtle displaying the fox's grief. Lies use of color and light also help to bring both the literal and emotional world to life, with the joyful colors and language at the beginning of the story subsumed in shadow after the death of the dog. The interplay between the text and illustrations through the book's layout was also noted.
The way Evan experiences death and processes his grief, which is never explicitly named in the book, is a major theme. The garden serves as a metaphor for Evan's emotional state, vibrant at the beginning, torn to pieces during his grief and rage, and hopeful when the pumpkin begins to grow. In the book emotions are portrayed, not as good or bad but simply what was felt. Through this process, Evan becomes ready to love again. Lies himself sees the book as one that is about hope.
